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Gov. Charlie Baker is drafting legislation that would restore the state police's ability to hold some defendants on a federal immigration detainer after they post bail, a policy that was stripped by a bombshell court decision this week.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruling released on Monday barred local law enforcement from keeping those wanted only on civil immigration violations.

It reversed parts of the state policy Baker installed in June 2016, which allowed state police, under certain circumstances, to hold defendants wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for up to 48 hours.

The policy, Baker aides said at the time, targeted suspected terrorists and illegal immigrants who had previous convictions on felonies, multiple misdemeanors that don’t include traffic offenses, or convictions in gang-related crimes. Since last June, Baker administration officials said state police have held 27 people on federal detainers, and refused to honor 13 other ICE requests.

But within hours of the SJC ruling, the state amended its policy. As a result, for example, if a suspect is charged criminally and is wanted on an ICE detainer, state police can no longer hold him or her when they post bail.

Administration officials said the legislation is still being drafted, but that they intend to craft a proposal that would again allow state police to hold illegal immigrants for a period of time if they'd been convicted of a serious crime, such as rape or heroin trafficking, or if they're considered a terrorist threat.

Under the previous policy, state police would only hold someone if they had been taken into custody on a criminal case. The new legislation wouldn't seek to change that.

In a statement, a Baker spokeswoman said the administration is still "exploring legislation options" but hopes to restore state police's authority to "further cooperate with ICE by detaining individuals convicted of violent crimes such as murder or rape when ICE is unable to respond immediately to take them into custody."

"Governor Baker does not support a sanctuary state and believes the administration’s policy is an important public safety tool to keep our communities safe," spokeswoman Lizzy Guyton said.

Baker's policy had marked a major shift in how state police dealt with ICE and reversed a Deval Patrick-era directive that barred them from detaining illegal immigrants at the request of federal immigration officials.

At the time, Baker said the policy "strikes the right balance,” and that it was intended to focus on those who “pose a significant threat."

Baker aides say they intend to file the bill as early as next week.

A separate proposal has already emerged on Beacon Hill from conservative Republicans in the House. That bill, spearheaded by state Rep. Jim Lyons and others, would give Bay State law enforcement officials the authority to arrest and detain people on federal immigration detainers.